House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday that he would trying to promote wartime aid for Israel this week as he tries the difficult task of winning House approval for a national security package that includes funding for Ukraine and its allies in Asia.
Johnson, R-La., was under the jurisdiction of enormous political pressure from his fellow GOP lawmakers as he tries to negotiate divided Republican support for helping Kyiv defend itself from Moscow’s invasion. The Republican speaker has been sitting for two months Additional package of 95 billion USD that would send support to U.S. allies, as well as provide humanitarian aid to civilians in Ukraine and Gaza as well as funding to replenish U.S. weapons supplied to Taiwan.
The unprecedented attack of Iran into Israel early Sunday added to the pressure on Johnson, but also gave him an opportunity to emphasize the urgency of approving the funding.
Johnson told Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” that he and Republicans “understand the need to stand with Israel” and that he would try this week to push for aid.
“The details of that package are being put together now,” he said. “We’re looking at the options and all these additional issues.”
GOP Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Johnson “has made it clear” that he sees a path to funding Israel, Ukraine and allies in Asia to reach an agreement. Floor this week.
Speakers expressed support for legislation that would structure some funding for Kyiv as loans, pave the way for the US to tap frozen Russian central bank assets, and include other policy changes . Johnson has pushed the Biden administration to lift the suspension of Liquefied Natural Gas export approvals and has also at times demanded policy changes on the US border with Mexico.
But currently, the only package with broad bipartisan support in Congress is the bill passed by the Senate, which includes about $60 billion for Ukraine and $14 billion for Israel.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby urged the spokesman to put the package “on the floor as soon as possible.”
“We don’t need any reminders of what’s going on in Ukraine,” Kirby said on NBC. “But last night certainly dramatically emphasized the threat that Israel faces in a very, very difficult region.”
When Johnson sought to boost funding for Ukraine, he did in a conversation with the entire White House and former president Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate.
With his job at stake, Johnson went to Florida on Friday to attend an event with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago club. Trump expressed support for Johnson and said he had a “very good relationship” with him.
“He and I agree 100 percent on the big issues on this agenda,” Johnson said. “When you talk about aid to Ukraine, he introduced the concept of loan-lease, which is a really important concept and I think there’s a lot of consensus.”
But Trump, with his “America First” agenda, has inspired many Republicans to push for a more isolationist stance. Support for Ukraine has waned in the roughly two years since the war began, and causes that once enjoyed widespread support have become one of Johnson’s toughest issues.
When he returns to Washington on Monday, Johnson will also face a group of conservatives already angry with his leadership of the House in largely maintaining the status quo both on government spending and, more recently, US government surveillance tool.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a right-wing Republican from Georgia, was called for Johnson’s ouster. She left the Capitol on Friday and told reporters that support for her effort was growing.
While no other Republicans have publicly joined Greene, a growing number of hard-line conservatives are openly disparaging Johnson and challenging his leadership.
Meanwhile, senior Republican lawmakers who support aid to Ukraine are increasingly frustrated with the months-long wait for the aid to reach the House floor. Kyiv’s army is running out of ammunition and Russia is becoming bolder as it seeks to gain a foothold in a spring and summer offensive. A massive attack using missiles and drones destroyed one of Ukraine’s largest power plants and damaged others last week.
“Russia is starting to gain ground,” Turner said. Ukraine is starting to lose its ability to defend itself.” “The United States must step up and provide Ukraine with the weapons it needs.”
The divisive dynamic has forced Johnson to try to put together a package that could deliver some policy wins for Republicans while retaining Democratic support. However, Democrats have repeatedly called on the speaker to make a point The 95 billion USD package was approved by the Senate in February on the floor.
Although progressive Democrats have opposed aid to Israel out of concern that it would support its campaign in Gaza that has killed thousands of civilians, most House Democrats all support the Senate aid package.
Last week, Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said: “The reason why the Senate bill is the only one is because of the urgency.” “We pass the Senate bill, it goes straight to the president’s desk, and you start sending aid to Ukraine immediately. That’s the only option.”
Many Democrats have also signaled they might be willing to help Johnson defeat the effort to remove him from the speaker’s office if he brings the Senate bill to the floor.
“I’m one of the people who would save him if we could solve Israel, Taiwan, Ukraine and some of the border security issues,” said Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat. reasonable world”.
